EileenNorth McGrath, compilerCarolina Books

North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources and North Overall, I found this book to be a wonderful guidebook to the arts, Carolina Cooperative Extension farms, and handmade crafts of central and coastal . This book is an essential addition to any public library in North Homegrown Handmade: Carolina, as well as any academic or school library, especially if Art Roads and Farm Trails they already own the two complementary guidebooks. Corn mazes, farmers markets, historical Thea Allen houses, orchards, watermelon festivals, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and much more in North Carolina can be found with the help of Homegrown Handmade: Art Roads and Farm Trails. The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources and North Carolina Cooperative Extension worked together Edward P. Norvell to publish this treasure-filled book that Portsmouth: Spies, U-boats, and takes the reader all over this state in search of local farms and homemade Romance on the Outer Banks crafts. This book builds upon and Edward P. Norvell, an attorney working complements two previously published for non-profit land trusts across the state guidebooks, Farms, Gardens & of North Carolina, has written several Winston-Salem: John F. Blair, Countryside Trails of Western North short stories and a previous book, 2008. 387 pp. $19.95. ISBN Carolina and The Craft Heritage Trails Southport, a Story of Second Chances. 978-0-89587-355-2. of Western North Carolina, which He has a MA in English and creative were produced by the North Carolina writing from the City University of organization HandMade in America. New York and a law degree from Wake Forest University. The scope of the book includes three geographic regions: the piedmont, the coast and the foothills. In all, seventy-six counties of North Carolina during World War II North Carolina are covered in this guidebook. These counties are does not usually bring up images of divided up into sixteen trails, each in its own color-coded chapter. spies, U-boats, or German submarines, Each chapter is arranged alphabetically by city or town name, with but in 1942 German submarines were sites grouped by location. Every site receives a brief description, all along the East Coast both spying North Carolina: Edward P. address, hours of operation, website, and contact information. and sinking cargo boats, pleasure craft, Norvell, distributed by John Helpful and easy to identify symbols are also included to designate and other submarines. The British navy F. Blair, 2008. 201pp. $15.95. the types of locations: arts and crafts, agricultural, and other. Useful was also present in our coastal waters; ISBN 978-0-89587-359-0. information about the location, such as group accommodation, without its help, the American navy signage, parking, restrooms, and handicap accessibility is also would have lost far more ships to German U-boats. Many of the given. details of the operations of the U-boats and the British navy are mentioned in this book. It was very interesting to read a book of Overall, I found this book to be a wonderful resource, filled with fiction that was so well researched; the attention to historical detail colorful pictures and information about all types of local treasures. makes this a fascinating book. The description for each site was brief, yet thorough. I was pleased with the amount of information available about each site The story starts when Marcia, a recently widowed woman, finds a and appreciated the simple symbols used. I would recommend man who gives his name as Bruce Hall. Bruce claims to be the only and emphasize that users carefully read the introduction to this survivor of the British submarine, the HMS Bedfordshire, which guidebook. I found it very helpful and it gave me a greater washed up onshore after being sunk by a German U-boat. Bruce understanding and appreciation of the work that was done to is actually Kurt Sanger, a spy from the U-boat that sunk the British produce this book. submarine. Sanger was sent onshore to find out what happened to the submarine and the Enigma machine it was carrying. Marcia Only the index disappointed. Although the index is quite complete finds him on the beach and takes him to her home, where she in listing cities, counties, and individual sites, I believe that having nurses him and eventually they fall in love. a subject index would have been helpful and made for a more comprehensive index. If the reader knows the name of a specific The author’s purpose seems to be not only to give the reader an place or a general location then the index is incredibly useful, but education about the submarine activity during World War II, but if someone is looking for only one type of site to visit (i.e., farmers also to weave in the feel of the Portsmouth area, the Outer Banks, markets, pottery shops, or bed and breakfasts), then the user will and the people who lived there. The blacked out have a more difficult time. a lot of the story of the U-Boats on our coast, and that historical

North Carolina Libraries Fall / Winter 2008 65 information, now brought to light, is very interesting. The plot is The prose is workmanlike and scholarly, and each chapter (with believable and the description of the island life wonderful. The extensive endnotes) provides rich fodder for further study. The characters, however, were a little underdeveloped. The love scenes book also contains a bibliography and an index. One might seemed to be a bit forced, but that could also be the reviewer’s occasionally wish for tighter editorial control, since Billinger tends bias, not being a fan of romance fiction. to repeat salient points, sometimes within a few sentences. This cavil aside, the book is a fascinating window into North Carolina’s This book is most suitable for libraries in North Carolina, and for past. Billinger’s work would be an obvious and excellent addition libraries that have a collection of World War II books. The book’s to all North Caroliniana collections, as well as public libraries with bibliography would be a good starting point for anyone doing military history collections, academic, and military base libraries. research on the Ocracoke area during the Second World War. This reviewer enjoyed Portsmouth and would recommend it to anyone Steven Case who is interested in World War II, or who has a love of the Outer State Library of North Carolina Banks.

Judi Bugniazet Montreat College Lyle Estill Small is Possible: Life in a Local Economy Robert D. Billinger, Jr. Lyle Estill has a heart as big as his social Nazi POWs in the Tar Heel State network, and both are on display in his The presence of more than 10,000 new book Small is Possible: Life in a German prisoners of war in North Local Economy. Through anecdotes Carolina during and immediately after featuring his community of biofuel the Second World War will likely producers, farmers, co-op owners, natural come as a great surprise to many. The healers, and artists living, working, prisoners, scattered over eighteen camps and playing in the woods of Chatham through out the state, presented both a County, North Carolina, Estill leads the challenge and an opportunity to the state reader to the conclusion that community and the nation. Governments struggled and economic and environmental to house and feed the captured men and sustainability are intertwined. to meet the demands of the Geneva Conventions. The POWs provided vital A resident of this area since 2003, Estill manpower during the final push in 1944 is “Vice President of Stuff” for Piedmont Gabriola Island, BC: New and 1945 and were viewed as potential Biofuels in Chatham County. He is also Society Publishers, 2008. Gainesville: University of tools in our nation’s attempt to export the author of Biodesiel Power: The 227 pp. $17.95. ISBN 978-0- Florida Press, 2008. 246 pp. democratic ideals to a soon-to-be- Passion, the People, and the Politics 86571-603-2. $27.00. ISBN: 978-0-8130- defeated Fascist state. of the Next Renewable Fuel, as well as 3224-5. the “Energy Blog” (http://energy.biofuels.coop/). Central to his Robert Billinger, a professor of new book’s narrative is a group of independent, locally-minded history at Wingate University and the author of a similar study organizers, small-business owners, and producers of consumable of German POWs in Florida, has done a signal service with this goods. Intentionally or otherwise, their efforts are protecting wide-ranging and thorough examination of this largely unknown Chatham County from the “great collapse”. They have, in effect, episode in North Carolina history. Beginning with pen portraits established what Estill calls “Hometown Security.” Take food for of a few of the men who found themselves unexpected “guests” example. If an economic collapse occurs and our grocery stores of the state, Billinger goes on to brief descriptions of each camp cannot get their shipments of fruits and vegetables from California (which he expands upon in later chapters). He follows this with or Brazil, but your local community has a thriving farmers market an examination of the role of the prisoners as laborers on army or co-op that stocks 30% local food, as the Chatham Marketplace bases, in fields and pine forests, and in factories. He also details does, you, the consumer, have access to fresh, healthy things to the varied backgrounds of the POWs, which had an effect on their eat. What if your community has nodes all along the production placement (and occasionally, treatment) within the camps. network? You survive the economic collapse. Alarmism aside— this is not such a tract—Estill demonstrates how a community with Billinger also discusses escapes and escape attempts, the War such a network, stacked with producers of the necessities of the Department indoctrination program which sought to “de-Nazify” day-to-day, is healthy in its own right. the prisoners, the reaction of civilians to the presence of POWs (and the public revulsion when the horrors of German concentration While it is a convincing argument, Estill could have made it in a camps became more widely known), and the routes by which the neater way. In a chapter titled “Feeding Ourselves,” Estill writes, prisoners were slowly repatriated after the war ended. There is “Surely gardening is a function of good editing.” So is a good a brief chapter on the whereabouts of the remains of some of the book, and this book is in desperate need of tending. There are prisoners who died while in the state’s care and the memories of easily a quarter as many grammatical mistakes as pages. Also, some survivors. Billinger concludes with a poignant appendix Estill, clearly a booster for his county, lets his sentences get away detailing the harrowing experiences of a stateless German Jewish from him, stringing them together in free associative style. Most prisoner, Jakob Fisher, whose ultimate fate remains unknown. importantly, at least to this reader, Estill’s work would benefit from

66 North Carolina Libraries Fall / Winter 2008 a theoretical grounding, one that would strengthen his argument authors include photographs, their considerable credentials, and and also balance out his anecdotes. The book is a descendant of their other works. E. F. Schumacher’s Small is Beautiful (Estill’s title clearly echoes Schumacher’s), but there is little discussion of Schumacher’s work These very experienced regional gardeners know their subject. or other books from this intellectual tradition. The Guide to North Carolina Vegetable Gardening is readable, but serious in its mission to de-mystify vegetable gardening and The message and intention ultimately overcome the shortcomings. make it appealing to many people. This is a timely subject. Many Readers with an interest in Chatham County or community North Carolinians long for the tastes of home-grown vegetables development will appreciate Estill’s lessons on being an active, and fruits. connected citizen. The book would be a fine addition to most North Carolina public and academic libraries. Any library with a Libraries with gardeners of any skill level should have at least local section, or that owns Schumacher’s book or Estill’s previous one copy of Guide to North Carolina Vegetable Gardening. The book, may consider purchasing Small is Possible. format is useful, but as it is available only in slick paper covers, the Brian Dietz book will not stand very many trips to the garden plot. Gardeners North Carolina State University will probably want to purchase their own copies to accompany them to the garden.

Nancy R. Frazier University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Walter Reeves and Felder Rushing Guide to North Carolina Vegetable Gardening Gardeners in North Carolina know Leslie Rindoks, ed. and love Felder Rushing, co-author of Passsalong Plants and garden sage of Thirteen Terrifying Tales from the Southern Living. Now we can also get North Carolina Piedmont to know Walter Reeves, Georgia garden writer, radio personality, and columnist While the mountains of North Carolina for the Atlanta Constitution. Together are known for their rich history of ghost they have put together a useful and stories and famous storytellers, it is interesting guide to vegetable gardening pleasing to discover that the Piedmont in North Carolina and adjacent parts of of North Carolina has its own heritage the South. of ghost tales and talented storytellers. Each of the thirteen ghost stories Franklin, TN: Cool Springs Beginning with tables and maps of included in this book were written by Press, 2007. 288 pp. $12.95. a different author. They were selected ISBN 13: 978-1-59186-395-3. hardiness zones, precipitation, and other basic information, the authors move from the many ghost stories told to Leslie into a discussion of the peculiarities of Rindoks while she was researching a centennial history of Cornelius, North gardening in the South. This is useful to newcomers, but also Davidson, N.C.: Lorimer informative for old hands. A discussion of pests and pesticide use Carolina. The centennial history, A Town by Any Other Name: From Virgin Press, 2007. 81 pp. $16.95. covers insect pests and briefly touches on four-legged marauders. ISBN 978-0-0789342-0-0. They do not give deer damage the obsessive treatment some of us Springs to Lake Norman: A History might like, but their focus, after all, is on the actual growing of of Cornelius, North Carolina, was the plants. published in 2005. Three of the stories in 13 Terrifying Tales also In the heart of the book, the authors tell us exactly how to plant our appear in the earlier book. vegetable gardens, then describe most of the vegetables anyone would want to grow. Some may ask “What! No artichokes?” but Like all ghost stories, these leave the reader with questions and, in the few omissions from the plant list mark things that are difficult some cases, the impulse to make sure the doors are locked! Can in our climate. The list of varieties is very good and fairly up-to- this story be true? What really happened? Surely there’s some date with Romano-type beans and some heirloom tomatoes. All of logical explanation! For residents of Piedmont North Carolina, the varieties covered will grow well in our climate. the realization that the stories happened in familiar locations adds to the suspense of each story. If you’ve been to an isolated family The sections on herbs, fruits, and nuts are a bonus. Reeves and burial ground, explored an old house, or crossed a bridge on a Rushing present many aspects of their cultivation, with useful deserted road, you can easily relate to these stories. In fact, you diagrams. They certainly captured my interest by including such may have your own ghost stories to tell. There are stories about small fruits as raspberries, which grow very well in North Carolina. dogs that won’t die, blood stains that can’t be removed, cars that The interesting asides include an essay on plants tolerant of black mysteriously stop, and visits from the grave, just to mention a walnut trees. I have always believed these trees to be inimical to few themes. The book itself is a work of art. The illustrations, all other plant growth, but the authors correct me. which have been abstracted from photographs, add to the ghostly atmosphere of the tales and the elegance of the book. The cover The book contains excellent drawings to illustrate many of the indicates that this is “volume I.” Let’s hope there are more discussions. It is rounded off nicely by a list of sources, a glossary, volumes to follow. a bibliography, and a good index. Full-page biographies of the

North Carolina Libraries Fall / Winter 2008 67 The best way to read this book is to believe that the stories are wife was indeed one of these captives, and as the abductees’ story true and enjoy the storyteller’s tale. The stories are also great for unfolded, so did the story of the long-AWOL Jenkins. Japanese reading aloud. The book is suitable for libraries with an interest in public opinion was sympathetic to both Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, and North Carolina literature, and for personal collections. the Japanese government interceded with the North Korean and United States governments on Jenkins’ behalf.

Connie Keller The book may present a problem for readers with strong sentiments Elon University concerning Jenkins’ desertion. He is unequivocal that his actions on that dark January night were wrong. “I abandoned men under my command,” he states, “which is absolutely one of the worst things a leader can do. . .” Upon his release by the North Koreans in 2004, Jenkins was court-martialed and sentenced to thirty days Charles Robert Jenkins, with Jim Frederick in jail. However, Jenkins believes that four decades of “mind- numbing indoctrination, hunger, cold, and fear of violence” were The Reluctant Communist: also a form of punishment. He clearly understands that some readers will accept his view of the situation and that others will My Desertion, Court-Martial, and not. Forty-Year Imprisonment in North Korea We have very little first-hand information about the daily lives of Charles Robert Jenkins, born and raised more than twenty-three million North Koreans living under a brutal in Northampton County, North Carolina, and secretive regime. This account helps fill in some important lied to join the National Guard at fifteen. blanks, and the span of years covered make it a unique contribution. When his three-year commitment to The Reluctant Communist is recommended for libraries with a the guard was up, he joined the United collecting interest in modern history, politics, international events, States Army. It was during his second current affairs and North Carolinians generally. tour of duty in South Korea, late on the night of January 5, 1965, that the Bryna Coonin twenty-four-year-old Sgt. Jenkins got East Carolina University drunk, abandoned his post, crossed the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and surrendered to North Korean soldiers. At the time Jenkins mistakenly believed his Berkeley: University of army unit was headed for Vietnam. His California Press, 2008. 192 misguided plan to avoid this assignment Anna R. Hayes pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-0- was to cross into North Korea, seek Without Precedent: The Life of Susie 520-25333-9. asylum from the Russians, and secure passage back to the States, expecting Marshall Sharp that he would most certainly stand trial for desertion. Jenkins Without Precedent: The Life of Susie eventually made that trial date, but not before he spent forty years Marshall Sharp is the chronicle of Susie inside of one of the most reclusive societies in the world. Sharp, who was the first female judge of a superior court in North Carolina, Three other U.S. servicemen had crossed the DMZ earlier, and the first woman on the North Carolina Jenkins would live with or near them over most of his four decades Supreme Court, and the first woman in in North Korea. Because they crossed the DMZ willingly, all four the United States to be elected and serve were considered Cold War “trophies.” Their pictures were used in as chief justice in a state supreme court. propaganda pamphlets, and they even appeared in several movies, Anna Hayes has written an intriguing including one based on the 1968 USS Pubelo incident. Jenkins story of Susie Sharp’s life, covering not believes that their propaganda appearances were the reason that, only the many triumphs in her public although they were always guarded and often treated harshly, they life but also the many complications of were kept mostly healthy. her private life.

The men were provided with women to marry, and on August 8, Hayes enjoyed the luxury of writing Chapel Hill: University of 1980 Jenkins and a young Japanese woman named Hitomi Soga the biography of a person who kept North Carolina Press, 2008. became man and wife. Early on in their relationship, Hitomi told nearly everything in the way of written 576 pp. $35.00. Robert that she and her mother were abducted while shopping near correspondence as well as an incredible ISBN 978-0-8078-3214-1. their home on the Japanese island of Sado. Her mother was never amount of other material chronicling heard from again. her life. Susie Sharp saved scrapbooks, news clippings, and even notes passed to her when she was a schoolgirl. Hayes had access to The Reluctant Communist benefits greatly from the solid efforts of nearly forty years of journals, as Sharp was an avid diarist. Sharp journalist Jim Frederick, who was Time Magazine’s Tokyo Bureau was so concerned about documenting her life that she recreated the chief in 2004 when Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi made his events from the years covered by a group of journals that had been first-ever trip to Pyongyang to meet Korean dictator Kim Jong-il. burned by creating abstracts of those volumes which had been lost. It was long rumored that the North Koreans had, over many years, Interestingly enough, this copious amount of information did not systematically kidnapped Japanese citizens to teach in Korean come without its own obstacles, as Hayes was obliged to learn spy schools. Japanese concern over its abducted citizens played how to read Susie’s shorthand before she could use the diaries. a significant role in the conclusion of the Jenkins story. Jenkins’ Even then, it took two years to decipher the journals.

68 North Carolina Libraries Fall / Winter 2008 Even though Hayes had this wealth of material, her job as a Mark de Castrique biographer could not have been an easy one because Ms. Sharp’s life proved to have no end of complications. Sharp’s public Blackman’s Coffin: A Blackman Mystery life was one of achievement and success. Her private life was Sam Blackman is not a happy man--and complex, as she made the decision early on to not marry, a not just because he is in the Veterans decision she followed through her entire life. She was not without Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, companionship, however, as she had lengthy affairs with first one having lost a leg in Iraq. His parents married man and then another. died recently in an auto accident, and he has nowhere to go when he leaves the Hayes chose to follow Sharp’s life chronologically, starting with a hospital except to his brother and sister- short section on her family, moving through her years of schooling, in-law’s home in Alabama. So for Sam to her early career as a lawyer, and on to her later groundbreaking the future is looking gloomy. rise to the North Carolina State Supreme Court. Hayes covers both Sharp’s triumphs and her tragedies. Things begin to look up a little when a sassy, attractive, black female security There is not enough space here to tell even a small fraction of the worker stops by his hospital room. She interesting facts and stories that Hayes relates about Sharp’s life. introduces herself as Tikima Robertson, One story that seems representative of Sharp’s struggle occurred ex-marine and fellow amputee, and she Scottsdale, AZ: Poisoned Pen in the early part of her career and contains a theme that would brings him one of his favorite fiction Press, 2008. 264 pp. $24.95. pursue her throughout her professional life. Hayes tells of one reads, a mystery novel. She also gives ISBN 978-1-59058-517-7. of Susie’s experiences in her father’s law firm, Sharp & Sharp, him her card from Armitage Security (large print ed. available: shortly after she began working there. A man came in wanting to Services, suggests to him the prospect $22.95. see the female lawyer. When Sharp asked what she could do for of future employment, and says she ISBN 978-1-59058-518-4) him, he replied that he didn’t actually need her services but just needs his help in solving an old mystery. wanted to see if it was true that there was an actual female lawyer Blackman finds himself hooked. Anxiously awaiting her next there. visit, he is shocked to learn that her dead body has been found in Hayes also fills us in on Sharp’s life in her waning years, when the French Broad River not far from the Biltmore Estate and that she was out of the spotlight. Ms. Sharp had a number of personal he was the last person besides her murderer to see her alive. Later, tragedies (at least one of which is chronicled in another book), and Tikima’s sister, Nakayla, brings Sam a 1919 journal written by a in her final years her great mental acuity left her. It was a very sad twelve year old white boy. The boy accompanied his father from ending to a life that proved exemplary in many ways. Asheville to Georgia to help the women’s great-great grandfather bury a relative in the family plot. When Blackman reads the work, Although the book is filled with an unexpected level of detail, the he realizes that it could it not have been written by a young boy. detail does not crush the reader. Hayes’ style of writing carries It appears that there is more than one mystery to solve, involving the reader along, and you quickly find yourself interested in what hints of hidden gold and emeralds, and a century-old murder. happens next. Interestingly, Hayes mentions at the end of the book that there are also many volumes of correspondence which Sharp Thus begins a new series by this regional writer, whose four copied in shorthand that Hayes didn’t have time to incorporate previous titles appeared as the Buryin’ Barry Clayton mystery into the book. Hayes believes that it may provide the groundwork series. This first person narrative is full of complex twists and for further study of Susie Sharp’s life. turns, excellent characterization, and replete with local color and flavor. There is indeed a Veteran’s Hospital in Asheville, as well Anna R. Hayes is a former partner in the law firm of Manning, as emerald mines in North Carolina, lending authenticity to this Fulton, and Skinner, P.A. The book contains an index, bibliography, tale. And North Carolina was the site of the first gold found in copious notes, and pictures. It would be a valuable addition to a the United States in 1799. There is also humor when protagonists range of libraries, both public and academic, not only for its local Sam and Nakayla find the boy, now elderly but still alert, living in and historical interest, but for its writing. For those interested in a nursing home, and spirit him away to help solve the crimes. North Carolina history, the history of women overcoming gender roles, or simply a good biography, I recommend this book. Mark de Castrique, a native of the western North Carolina mountains, grew up immersed in the lore of the area, including Scott Rice the building of the Biltmore Estate and the life of author Thomas Appalachian State University Wolfe. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is also a playwright and has worked in both the television and film production industries.

Public library patrons who read the earlier series will surely be asking for this title, and high school libraries and other libraries which collect North Carolina authors and works set in the Appalachian region should consider purchasing this book.

Carol Truett Appalachian State University

North Carolina Libraries Fall / Winter 2008 69 Rob Christensen the state advanced economically and socially during the course of the twentieth century, but Christensen also recognizes that the The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics: The conservative underpinning of our Southern values has allowed Personalities, Elections, and Events That the conservative voice to be heard, acknowledged, and elected. Christensen speculates on the impact on the traditional North Shaped Modern North Carolina Carolina political balance that will be created by growing African Do you recall that Harvey Gantt drew American voter participation as well as the influx of Latino workers more votes in his 1996 North Carolina and relocated families from elsewhere in the country. Senate race against Jesse Helms than garnered at the top of the ticket Readers of an analytical bent may feel that Christensen has not that year? That data point may seem truly unpacked the fundamental paradox of why North Carolina paradoxical to some, but it is illustrative votes progressively in some instances and conservatively in others. of what is fascinating and complex Perhaps North Carolina politics cannot be analyzed simply in terms about North Carolina political life. The of progressive and conservative voting blocks, with a set of swing passing of Senator Helms on the Fourth voters deciding elections. There may be a dual political instinct in of July of this year has prompted many many of us that results in the pendulum swing. An early archetype North Carolinians to reflect on the state’s of this contradictory tendency may be best illustrated in the person politics. Fortuitously, the University of of Governor Charles Aycock (1901-1905) a white supremacist not North Carolina Press recently published untypical of his era who was also the original “education governor” two excellent books that will help all of and much admired by later advocates for North Carolina’s schools Chapel Hill: University of us as we consider the past, present, and such as and Jim Hunt. Despite such possible North Carolina Press, 2008. future of Tar Heel politics. Each will take objections, most readers will enjoy reviewing their North Carolina 351 pp. $30.00. its place next to earlier examinations of political history under the guidance of Rob Christensen and will ISBN 9780807831892. the politics and government of our state appreciate the added knowledge, perspective, and readability by Jack Fleer1 and Paul Luebke2. given to the subject by this experienced journalist. This book is strongly recommended for all high school, public, and academic Rob Christensen, the longtime (and by his own admission, libraries in North Carolina. occasionally controversial) political reporter for the Raleigh News & Observer, has merged his own encyclopedic knowledge Two political science faculty members of recent North Carolina elections with historical research to at Western Carolina University, craft an engaging analytical narrative about the contradictions Christopher A. Cooper and H. Gibbs and anomalies of our twentieth-century political history. In Knotts, have edited a collection of The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics: The Personalities, Elections, essays on North Carolina politics and and Events That Shaped Modern North Carolina, Christensen governance which may serve as a useful, identifies three ideological strains manifested in our political but more academic, companion to the discourse: (1) a pro-business progressivism that was unique within Christensen book. The contributed the South and that has tended to predominate over the years, (2) a chapters in The New Politics of North social and political conservatism that is more typically Southern Carolina address categories of political which serves as a counterbalance to the more pragmatic (at times, analysis favored by political scientists. even “liberal”) progressive impulse, and (3) an egalitarian and The authors were encouraged to provide anti-establishment populism that first triumphed in the pitchfork statistical comparisons between North Carolina and other states in the South rebellion of 1894 that overthrew conservative Democratic rule Chapel Hill: University of and that has been exemplified most recently in the campaigns of and in the nation as a whole. Some of that data may in fact indicate that North North Carolina Press, 2008. John Edwards. This analytical structure is eloquently outlined 314 pp. $65.00 cloth, ISBN and argued in the introduction; it is then populated in subsequent Carolina’s progressive reputation can be more myth than reality. All contributions 9780807831915; $22.95 chapters with the colorful personalities who have commanded paper, ISBN 9780807858769. attention in our electoral politics since 1900. Each chapter covers are written in a style accessible to the an historical era, and in each the reader is treated to a collection informed citizen who possesses a basic grasp of civics and who of anecdotes that are entertaining and instructive. A biographical enjoys reading serious political analysis in the newspaper. cast of characters is helpfully presented as an appendix. Racial politics are treated objectively and are fully incorporated into The introductory historical chapter by Thomas Eamon (a political the historical presentation throughout. The emergence of a more scientist at East Carolina University) provides a retrospective competitive two party system in the 1970s is explained within the context for the other essays in the book and makes interesting context of the progressive/conservative dynamic. An epilogue reading in conjunction with the Christensen book. Eamon summarizes the accomplishments of business progressivism as describes a pro-business, pro-economic development “progressive conservatism” which is the animating force running through both 1 Jack D. Fleer. North Carolina Government and Politics. Lincoln: Uni- major parties in modern North Carolina politics. This consensus versity of Nebraska Press, 1994. Dr. Fleer is a professor emeritus of politi- is at times challenged from the right by ideological conservatism cal science at Wake Forest University (think Jesse Helms) and or on the left by democratic populism as 2 Paul Luebke. Tar Heel Politics 2000. Chapel Hill: University of North occurred with Governor Kerr Scott or, more recently, with House Carolina Press, 1998. Dr. Luebke is a professor of sociology at the Uni- Speakers Liston Ramsey and Dan Blue. Other chapters measure versity of North Carolina–Greensboro and has been a member of the North Carolina’s progressivism by examining public opinion in North Carolina House of Representatives from Durham for nine terms. North Carolina, the party system, interest groups and lobbying, This work is a revision of an earlier book Tar Heel Politics: Myths & mass media, gubernatorial politics, the General Assembly, the Realities also published by the UNC Press in 1990. A third “edition” is judiciary, and the interplay between state and local government. anticipated to be ready for publication in a year or two.

70 North Carolina Libraries Fall / Winter 2008 The final two chapters are devoted to two representative areas of Montgomery in his essay on Southern accents; by James Cobb public policy: the environment and education. Cooper and Knotts on country music; Trudier Harris on African American humor and provide a synthetic overview of the chapters in a well-executed the South; Dan Pierce on NASCAR; Louis M. Kyriakoudes and conclusion entitled “Rethinking Progressivism and Governance in Peter A. Coclanis on professional wrestling; Patrick Huber on the North Carolina.” The New Politics of North Carolina would be creation of redneck identity; and Dwight Billings and Kathleen M. a sound selection for high school libraries supporting a college Blee on Appalachian feuds. A few physical markers of the South preparatory curriculum, for large public libraries, and for all are almost legendary. Kudzu receives it due in an essay by Derek academic libraries in North Carolina. and Donna Alderman, and the equally tenacious Southern hog and its cultural symbolism is probed by S. Jonathan Bass. Eric Smith Duke University Southern Cultures is a worthy addition to the body of work on the topic and is appropriate for public, academic, and secondary school libraries. Readers will find it complements previously published essay compilations such as The American South: Portrait of a Culture (Louisiana State University Press, 1990), Bridging Southern Cultures: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Louisiana Harry L. Watson and Larry J. Griffin, eds. State University Press, 2005), and The Prevailing South: Life Southern Cultures: The Fifteenth and Politics in a Changing Culture (Longstreet, 1988). Each essay in Southern Cultures includes references, and the volume Anniversary Reader is indexed. Readers looking for a compilation of noteworthy essays about the South Mary C. Metzger can find it in Southern Cultures: University of North Carolina at Charlotte The Fifteenth Anniversary Reader, a collection of twenty-seven essays from the first fifteen years of the journal, Southern Cultures. Volume editors Harry L. Watson and Larry J. Griffin Ann Wicker, ed. are also co-editors of the journal. They recall that in the journal’s founding Making Notes: Music of the Carolinas year (1992) many observers wrote that From the mountains to the beach, music the South was no longer a distinctive is woven into the cultural fabric of the region. Time, the editors suggest, has Carolinas. Like sports and barbecue, proven that assertion wrong. there is a wealth of celebrated figures Chapel Hill: University of and regional tastes to choose from, North Carolina Press, 2008. Part of the reason for the South’s and almost everyone has their own 507 pp. $49.95 cloth; difference is slavery, segregation, favorites, opinions, and stories to tell. ISBN 978-0-8078-3212-7; and their aftermaths, although as Much of the flavor of our region’s music 24.95 paper Larry Griffin reminds readers, racial is authentically captured in Making ISBN 978-0-8078-5880-6. segregation was a national problem that Notes: Music of the Carolinas. Charlotte, NC: Novello Americans tended to regard as uniquely Southern. In their essays, Festival Press, 2008. Catherine Bishir and Drew Gilpin Faust provide historical context Making Notes is a collection of short 225 pp. $22.95. to segregation, describing how white Southerners created a heroic articles, essays, and recollections on ISBN 978-0-615-15969-0. Southern past with monuments, a white supremacy crusade, and music and musicians from North and grand buildings in the Colonial Revival style. John Shelton Reed’s South Carolina. The book is divided into four sections: Carolina essay shows how the Confederate flag was part of the scenario, music connections, entertainers, bands, and music experiences. while Steve Oney writes on lynching. How to understand the The pieces were written by writers, journalists, musicians, antebellum cultural construct is addressed in individual essays by and academics. Many of the essays were originally written for franklin forts, Adam Gussow, and Mart Stewart. Joseph Crespino, magazines and newspapers and are under four pages in length. Melton McLaurin, and Elizabeth Boyd’s contributions discuss Like a mix tape of two-minute hit songs, it is enjoyable and easy to how children and teens are inculcated and adapt cultural norms. listen to, but leaves it audience wanting more. The lasting achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr. are movingly profiled by Timothy B. Tyson. The range of the music and geography covered in the book is impressive, especially considering the size of the musical The South as a distinctive place has been shaped by multiple landscape. The essays consistently bring the subjects into greater groups, including Native Americans, Jews, Catholics, Hindus, light through telling details. In addition to the articles one would and Buddhists. The experiences and contributions of these expect to find on performers such as Doc Watson and Nina Simone, groups are examined in essays by Theda Perdue, David Goldfield, the book addresses lesser known figures like Peg Leg Sam and Gina and Thomas A. Tweed. For black Southerners who left for the Stewart and subjects such as the preservation of Gullah spirituals industrialized Midwest between the Depression and the postwar and Charlotte’s shout band tradition. decade, migration meant new jobs and increased income, much of it spent in neighborhoods with other Southerners. Anthony Walton The book’s coverage of the different music scenes is refreshingly recounts a Chicago childhood sustained by Southern cooking. The broad yet uneven. Hip hop is given lip service by a frustratingly theme of Southern distinctiveness is picked up by Charles Reagan short two-page survey, while the nascent Latino music scene Wilson in his essay on historic funerals of the South; Michael

North Carolina Libraries Fall / Winter 2008 71 receives a four-page treatment. Many of the book’s personal David M. Lawrence, a well respected and prolific writer, is William recollections are touching. It would not be difficult for a Carolina Rand Kenan Jr. Professor of Public Law and Government at the music fan to come up with a list of names and subjects that could School of Government. He is keenly aware of the nuances in the have been added to the book. The Five Royales, Tal Farlow, Billy open meetings statute and of new decisions both here in North Strayhorn, and Wade Mainer come to my mind, but this is the Carolina and throughout the country. He is also the photographer quibbling of a music fan. What one really wishes for are longer of the cover image. After conducting an unscientific survey of pieces that add greater depth to our understanding and knowledge. library staff, no one could understand how this image connects Rather than a comprehensive look at the music, Making Notes is a to the subject matter of Open Meetings and Local Government in self-styled sampler of musical figures, styles, and culture. North Carolina. Another image would be helpful to draw attention to the importance of the book. There is a lot to enjoy in the anthology and any omission makes a strong case that Making Notes, like the DaCapo’s annual Best This book should be in the pocket of all government officials and Music Writing anthologies, should be a continuing series. I highly available at every library in the state. recommend the book to academic and public libraries. Making Notes is an appealing book your patrons will enjoy, even your most Beverly Tetterton dedicated and opinionated music fans. New Hanover County Public Library

Steve Weiss University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Charles Szypszak Eminent Domain and Local David M. Lawrence Government in North Carolina: Open Meetings and Local Law and Procedure Governments in North Carolina: The United States Supreme Court’s Some Questions and Answers recent decision in Kelo v. City of New London* made citizens across The School of Government at the the country acutely aware of just how University of North Carolina at broadly eminent domain laws could be Chapel Hill has the distinction of interpreted when it comes to defining being the largest university-based local what constitutes “public use.” In an government training, advisory, and effort to help attorneys representing research organization in the country. those citizens, Charles Szypszak, an Its mission is to improve the lives of associate professor in the School of North Carolinians through practical Government at the University of North scholarship that helps state and local Carolina at Chapel Hill, provides an elected officials, as well as the citizenry, introduction to eminent domain in North understand the law. The law regarding Carolina. Szypszak’s specialization in open meetings is one of the most cited 7th ed. Chapel Hill, NC: real estate matters, particularly eminent 1st ed. Chapel Hill: UNC and questioned statutes. It has been domain, makes him well qualified to School of Government, 2008. UNC School of Government, the subject of at least two editorials in 2008. 64 pp. $15.00. ISBN educate the rest of us on this important, 156 pp. $26.00. ISBN 978-1- this librarian’s local newspaper within and very timely, topic. 56011-573-1. 978-1-56011-583-0. the last two months. It directly affects most citizens in their daily lives through governing bodies from Szypszak has written a thorough work on the nuances and city councils and county commissions to school boards and airport procedure of eminent domain actions in North Carolina. After authorities. discussing the historical roots of eminent domain and the statutory foundation from which the power arises, the author covers the Open Meetings and Local Governments in North Carolina is process of instituting an eminent domain action, from determining divided into five sections: basic coverage of the act, exceptions, the appropriate parties to determining attorneys’ fees. He follows miscellaneous questions, remedies, and citations. Topics are with a chapter on the most important issue in any eminent domain covered using a question and answer format, to good effect. action: calculating the amount of just compensation to be awarded Included are questions such as: “When our board interviews to the individual(s) whose land has been taken. The book closes candidates for the job of manager, do the interviews constitute with a chapter on inverse condemnation. deliberations? “May we hold a closed session at a retreat or Although certainly not the first title to present a statutory and workshop meeting?” “Does the statute require that any record judicial foundation of eminent domain, or the first to guide an be made of a closed meeting?” The appendix provides handy attorney through an eminent domain action, this book is the access to the text of the open meetings statute and reference is first to combine these two aims and to tailor itself for the North made to other parts of the North Carolina General Statutes when Carolina lawyer. Each chapter is meticulously researched with appropriate. The citations section is keyed to specific questions, an average of over 150 footnotes per chapter. These notes lead and includes references to cases in North Carolina and other states. the reader to pertinent statutory provisions, judicial decisions, and This seventh edition includes several North Carolina Court of other secondary material. The book also contains a brief index, Appeals decisions made under the open meetings statute since the adequately detailed given the book’s length. sixth edition of 2002. * 545 U.S. 469.

72 North Carolina Libraries Fall / Winter 2008 The multiple sample documents available in Chapter 2 to assist a Each chapter begins with a short paragraph that introduces the practitioner in carrying out an eminent domain action are the most subject and prompts readers and listeners on how to identify with valuable feature of the book. The samples provide an exceptional the stories. The stories cover an array of subjects, from ghost starting point for practitioners when other legal form books may not stories and origin tales to accounts of the Trail of Tears. Children be sufficiently specific to an eminent domain action. Additionally, may find just reading the stories uninteresting, but they will likely the author provides invaluable practice pointers and checklists to be engaged by listening to the stories read aloud. The opportunities accompany the forms. The one flaw in the book is the absence of for using this collection in the classroom are numerous. The extra a table of authorities. Because the book is obviously designed to material provided after the tales is helpful and shows Duncan’s assist attorneys, a helpful addition would have been a list of the experience as an education director. A short glossary of unfamiliar sections within the book in which particular statutes and judicial words such as “conjurer” and “stickball” is included, as well as a opinions appear. map comparing Cherokee land in the early 19th century with their current territory. Also included are a timeline, a reading list of Despite the book’s accessibility to the lay reader, it is ideal for other Cherokee tales, and a collection of brief biographies for each attorneys, judges, and lawmakers because of its focus on the of the storytellers whose tales are included in the book. legal process of an eminent domain action. Individuals who may find themselves subject to an eminent domain action might find Interesting and entertaining, this book fills the small but important portions of the book helpful for context, but not as a how-to guide niche for children’s Native American folklore. Collections with a for the self-represented litigant. This title is a must-have for any focus on Native American or Cherokee folklore and culture will law library. The title would also make an excellent addition to a certainly wish to add this title, as will collections that concentrate general university library, but might not contribute meaningfully on North Carolina’s folklore traditions. Public and school libraries to a public library’s collection as it is not intended as a legal self- in need of an educational resource on Native American folklore help guide. should also consider this as a useful and engaging addition to their collections. Jason Sowards Wake Forest University Professional Center Library Laura Gillis Lewisville Public Library

Barbara R. Duncan, ed. Charles Reagan Wilson, general ed. The Origin of the Milky Way and Other Living Stories of the Cherokee The New Encyclopedia of Southern This small but resonant collection of Culture Cherokee stories serves as an important The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, tool in efforts to preserve and share first published in 1989 and edited by Cherokee language and culture. The Charles Wilson and William Ferris, was twenty-seven short tales presented here a single tome. The new encyclopedia is were originally used to teach moral a series of volumes, each dedicated to a lessons to Cherokee children and to separate subject. Currently, ten volumes remind adults about living peacefully. of the new edition have been published, Ranging in length from a few lines to but eventually the series will comprise three pages, the tales are written in a twenty-four volumes. free verse style that echoes the rhythm of the storyteller. Editor Barbara Wilson and Ferris’s endeavor, according Chapel Hill: University of Duncan has transcribed the stories word to the introduction, was to facilitate North Carolina Press, 2008. for word, breaking the lines where the interdisciplinary study and “illuminate 144 pp. $19.95. ISBN 978-0- storyteller paused. This format makes the nature and function of regionalism 8078-3219-6. it easy to recreate the flow of a tale, and in American culture.” The new edition Chapel Hill: University of facilitates its ability to be shared aloud accepts this mission. The general North Carolina Press, 2006- as originally intended. introduction states “Observers of the Available in paper ($19.95 American South have had much to per volume) and hardback Duncan is the education director of the Museum of the Cherokee absorb, given the rapid pace of recent ($39.95 per volume). Each Indian, and her experience with the Cherokee storytelling tradition change … Given the extent of changes volume has its own ISBNs. includes the publication of a similar set of stories entitled Living in the American South and in Southern Stories of Cherokee in 1998. The children’s stories in The Origin of Studies since the publication of the Encyclopedia of Southern the Milky Way were first published in the 1998 volume. Duncan’s Culture, the need for a new edition of that work is clear.” familiarity with, and respect for, Cherokee culture are easily seen in the concise introduction to the tales. Covering topics such as Each volume of the New Encyclopedia is organized in two halves: clothing, food, and homes, she provides young readers with an essays in the first half cover broad topics, while essays inthe appropriate amount of information for understanding the context second half cover more specific ones. In most volumes, such as of the stories. Duncan divides the tales themselves into seven in Literature or Language, this works well. In Language, essays chapters in deference to the importance that the Cherokee give to on dialects and languages such as “Gullah,” or “Lumbee English” the number seven. appear first. The essays in the second half identify idiomatic

North Carolina Libraries Fall / Winter 2008 73 phrases and styles, like “Preaching Style, Black,” or “Fixin’ to.” regional barbecue competitions; and being founders of UNC’s However, some volumes cover subjects that do not lend themselves Carolina Bar-B-Q Society. John and Dale Reed have also so readily to this method. Religion is a good example. The first previously collaborated in writing 1001 Things Everyone Should half covers broad religious movements, such as “Calvinism,” Know About the South and in editing Cornbread Nation 4: The “Pentecostalism,” and “Islam,” but also “Women and Religion,” Best of Southern Food Writing. “Urban Religion,” and “Diversity, Religious.” The second half is also puzzling, containing topics such as “Moravians,” “Serpent By quoting from sources such as Homer, the Old Testament, Handlers,” and “Shakers.” There is no sense of cohesion among George Washington, and other luminaries the authors seek to the topics in each half of the book. Why is a topic in the second create a context for their later discussion which includes, in great half of the volume rather than the first? It is hard for readers to detail, the changes that have occurred over the years with regard orient themselves, particularly if they don’t know exactly what to their favorite food (or, in many cases, the lack of change). they’re looking for. They delve deeply into the most contentious of all controversies, the Eastern/Piedmont split and its consequent debate: tomatoes The major strength of this encyclopedia is its depth. The back of or no tomatoes. This sounded to me very much like Yankees/ the Literature volume sports this praise from Hugh Ruppersburg Red Sox debate where I come from. There is simply no room of the University of Georgia: “A comprehensive collection of for compromise and family and friends can be torn apart when information… that will become a necessary starting point for any sides are taken! Despite the controversies, it should be noted that scholar of the American literary South.” Professor Ruppersburg the authors are fairly adamant on this point: when discussing real may have written his commentary for this volume alone, but it barbecue the meat has to be cooked over wood, usually hickory applies to each volume in the set. One expects an encyclopedia or oak. As they state in their conclusion “If you’re not smoking, on Southern culture to include entries on William Faulkner, soul you’re joking.” Of course, the meat needs to be hog. food, and Martin Luther King, Jr. However, an encyclopedia on Southern culture that contains entries on alien species in the One must progress through the book with extreme caution. I doubt Everglades, “See Rock City,” contemporary authors John Grisham that Pavlov’s dog was any less affected than the average reader will and Nikki Giovanni, and cartoonist Doug Marlette is a unique be as they read in detail about the various ways of barbecuing and scholarly contribution. types of sauces. The authors also cover the traditions, histories, Overall, this encyclopedia is filled with interesting and well- and common recipes associated with coleslaw, Brunswick stew, researched entries. Its one drawback is organization. It would cornbread, hushpuppies, cornpone, corn sticks, collards, baked benefit from a comprehensive index; one hopes that this will be beans, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, and the especially forthcoming in the final volumes. This set would make an excellent painful-to-read sections on peach cobbler, blackberry cobbler, graduate level reference source for any college or university banana pudding, and innumerable kinds of pies. (The authors note library. that there are debates on these items but they are much less heated than those on the barbecue itself.) They even discuss the ideal Jennifer Townes drinks associated with barbecuing such as sweet tea, ideally “real State Library of North Carolina sweet,” or a soft drink like Cheerwine. (Cheerwine is produced here in North Carolina and considered “the sweetest soft drink ever made.”) They note that if you must have beer it should be the cheap kind as to not take away from the main attraction.

The book concludes with an interesting compilation of stories John Shelton Reed, Dale Voleberg Reed, and William McKinney about some of the more well-known establishments in North Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina. These have one common theme—it ain’t an easy profession. The proprietors talk about working six and seven day Carolina Barbecue weeks; one even states “I try to work from sunup to sundown.” According to one of the many interesting This book is highly recommended for any North Carolina library sidebars located throughout this book, with a culinary-related collection of any size. (I know we are “The story of North Carolina from the biased here at Johnson & Wales but are there any libraries in North American Revolution through the Great Carolina that don’t have one of these?) War could almost be written in barbecue sauce.” Indeed, this book could easily Richard J. Moniz, Jr. serve as a textbook on the history Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte Campus of North Carolina and/or the history of barbecue. The authors’ thorough research and entertaining narrative provide the reader with a stimulating cultural portrait of both the state and its well-known tradition.

Chapel Hill: University of While the authors are not native to North North Carolina Press, 2008. Carolina, two have been residents here 303 pp. $30.00. since the late 1960s and one is originally ISBN 978-0-8078-3243-1. from neighboring South Carolina. All three have impressive credentials including membership in the Southern Foodways Alliance and the North Carolina Barbecue Society; experience judging major

74 North Carolina Libraries Fall / Winter 2008 Ann S. Cottle The Roots of Penderlea: A Memory of a New Deal Homestead Community The Great Depression and the social projects of the New Deal brought fundamental changes to American life. The Roots of Penderlea is the intimate history of one such project. Penderlea was the New Deal’s first planned agricultural colony, a “noble experiment in economic recovery” carved from North Carolina’s southeastern marshes by Civilian Conservation Corps labor. A journalist and a Penderlea resident since early childhood, Ann S. Cottle Wilmington: The Publishing is uniquely qualified to tell its story in Laboratory, University of her first book; she does so with grace, North Carolina Wilmington, wit, and careful detail. Her personal distributed by John F. Blair, experiences enliven a wealth of primary 2008. 100 pp. $19.95. ISBN source material, including a series 978-0-9791-4033-4. of oral history interviews she spent twelve years conducting with original homesteaders.

Penderlea owes its primacy to Hugh MacRae, a realtor and businessman who dreamed of revitalizing the rural Southeast and Looking for more help with improving the lives of poor white farmers. By 1920, when he collection development? purchased the forty-five hundred acre tract which would become Penderlea, MacRae had already invested over a million of his own If you want to expand your library’s collection of novels set dollars in creating other planned farming communities. When the in North Carolina, you should visit the Read North Carolina National Industrial Recovery Act became law in 1933, creating Novels blog hosted by the North Carolina Collection at the the Division of Subsistence Homesteads, MacRae was first in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (http://www.lib. line. The government adopted his ten-year-old site plans later that unc.edu/blogs/ncnovels/). year. Construction began early the next year, and some of the first 142 homes were completed and occupied by the end of 1934. If your interest in North Caroliniana is more general, both Cottle traces the community’s lifespan through its growing pains, the North Carolina Collection at East Carolina University heyday, and long metamorphosis as the South’s agrarian economy and the North Carolina Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill became an industrial one. Though much has changed, some regularly post lists of new additions to their collections. original homes remain in and around Penderlea, and “the spirit of The addresses for those sites are: the homesteaders” nourishes its strong community identity. http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/ncc/profs.cfm The Roots of Penderlea may be the first book-length history of the http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/ncm/index.php/whats-new- community. It includes a wealth of information: a chronology; a in-the-north-carolina-collection/ site map; photographs old and new; lists of the first homesteaders; job assignments; a list of black workers at Penderlea; a wage rates table; notes; and a bibliography. With its warm glow of nostalgia, loving attention to detail, thorough research, and the dedication evidenced by twelve years of interviews, the book is eminently readable. Although Cottle occasionally strays into lengthy details likely to interest only insiders, she includes enough entertaining anecdotes to keep other readers engaged. One could wish for more attention to Penderlea’s negative aspects; for instance, MacRae and the government’s selection process were at once paternalistic and segregationist. African Americans could labor but could not homestead at Penderlea; the only black individuals mentioned by name appear in the section on squatters. Clearly, Cottle’s intention is to burnish, not tarnish, the community’s name.

The Roots of Penderlea is appropriate for libraries in and around Pender County, academic libraries in North Carolina, and libraries with strong collections in Depression-era history.

Anne Marie Taber University of North Carolina at Greensboro

North Carolina Libraries Fall / Winter 2008 75